San Benito boys, girls post easy wins over visiting Gilroy
Hollister – Before San Benito girls track coach Julio Trinidad had even gotten word Wednesday of Sarah Yoldi’s school record-breaking throw in the shot put, he received a phone call from the now former record holder Jackie Perrien.
“She was telling me, ‘You need to double-check that,'” Trinidad said. “I saw it from across the field and it looked pretty good.”
It was good, 37-feet good, breaking Perrien’s year-old record of 36-feet, 11-inches.
“She’s been coming around a lot,” Trinidad said of Yoldi. “She wants to be a (Central Coast Section) competitor and with that throw, she can be.”
While Yoldi stole much of the attention, it was a strong overall performance that allowed the ‘Balers to ease their way to a clean sweep in the dual meet against rival Gilroy.
The girls earned an 83-53 win while the boys routed the Mustangs 98-37. In the frosh/soph competition, San Benito well out-numbered Gilroy en route to a 96-24 win in the girls competition and a 111-32 boys victory.
For the varsity girls, it has been a resurgence since a lackluster performance resulted in a lopsided loss to Salinas on March 21. The ‘Balers came back a week later to beat Notre Dame and after a three-week layoff from dual meets, produced an impressive showing.
“It was disappointing,” Trinidad said of the Salinas loss. “It was one of those where we had the talent, had the numbers, but they just took it to us. Last night we met and everybody said what they wanted to accomplish and almost everybody did what they wanted to accomplish.”
Among the keys to victory were a sweep of the top three spots in the 400 meters. Lauren Villasenor won the race in 1:02, with Jessica Rux and Sandy Meza taking second and third. Lilli Villagomez, who was celebrating her birthday, delivered a win in the 330 meter hurdles and took second in the 100 hurdles.
Courtney Allen paced the distance runners by taking first in her best event, the 800 meters, with a time of 2:28. She also finished third in the mile and second in the two-mile. The girls also won the 4×400 relay and the 4×100 relay.
On the boys side, where the distance runners normally rule the day, it was some success in the sprints that helped aid the victory.
The ‘Balers swept the 100 and 200 meter top spots, with Chris Koroluk winning the 100 at 11.47 and Ryan Shorey taking the 200 at 23.62. Koroluk took second in the 200.
“I was really impressed that we swept the 100 and 200,” boys coach Iran White said. “That’s an area where we’re not usually quite as strong as the distances.”
Rigo Vasquez ran a lighter load than normal to stay fresh for Friday’s Top 8 Invitational, but still took first in the mile at 4:44 and second in the 800.
“He’s had a such a load all season, we gave him a break today,” White said.
Jake Jackson had a stellar day as the ‘Balers lone double-winner. He took first in the 400 at 52.06 and first in the 800 at 2:07.
Ryan Bartylla also had a strong day, taking first in the 330 hurdles at 42.66. He was third in the 110 hurdles and second in the 100 meters. Austin Schmidt, whose battling an ankle injury, still took first in the 110 hurdles and second in the 330 hurdles.
The ‘Balers star pole vaulter Josh Schroeder took an attempt at breaking his own school record when he set the bar at 16 feet. He failed on his two attempts, but still easily won the event.
San Benito will send 19 boys and nine girls to Friday’s Top 8, which should serve as a preview for the Central Coast Section championships.
